


student loans & treehouse homes (we all would take the latter)

by serenfire



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Established Relationship, M/M, Thallenweek2015, no angst in this one but fluff and a rant about finals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-26
Updated: 2015-05-26
Packaged: 2018-04-01 08:53:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4013461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/serenfire/pseuds/serenfire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Barry did <em>not</em> start a mini explosion in the lab in order to get revenge on the Chemistry professor, he swears.</p>
            </blockquote>





	student loans & treehouse homes (we all would take the latter)

**Author's Note:**

> The theme song of this fic is Stressed Out by Twenty One Pilots.
> 
> I came up with the idea that Barry would totally accidentally blow up a lab in college, _are you kidding me,_ and then the fic turned into a rant about finals and some fluff.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> @anyone I know irl: do not read thanks

Barry did _not_ start a mini explosion in the lab in order to get revenge on the Chemistry professor, he swears. He repeats the account to at least three officers in the station before they let him, the skinny and socially awkward nerd with uncomfortable flame-tinged skin, go. Barry calls Eddie from the station, hoping desperately the business major left his phone on. 

Eddie picks up, and from the first light cough into the phone, Barry knows that his boyfriend is completely drunk. “Who’s this?” Eddie slurs. 

“It’s Barry.” 

Eddie’s phone drops onto the table before he picks it back up again, and Iris giggles in the background, saying, “Who’s calling you _now_?” 

“It’s Barry,” Eddie tells her, and puts his phone back up to his ear. “Hey, Bar. You were s’posed to get back _hours_ ago. We had to go drinking without you, and the karaoke here is shit.” 

“I’m at the police station,” Barry says, trying not to wince. 

Eddie bursts out laughing and tells Iris, who takes his phone and hisses, still coherently drunk, “Would this have anything to do with the fire on the east side of campus?” 

Barry clicks his teeth together. This is really not a good conversation to have when he’s stone-cold sober, especially since he can still feel an echo of the handcuffs pinching his wrists. “Yeah,” he says. 

“Are you okay?” 

“I’m great. Can you put Eddie back on?” 

Iris hands Eddie back his phone, and Eddie says, “So are you going to join us?” 

“Where are you?” Barry figures that if he goes back to his dorm he has about half an hour before all the others in Chemistry come looking for him. 

“The one by Olive Garden,” Eddie says, and giggles audibly. “Hey, you know how much _time_ we’re going to have to ourselves over Christmas break?” 

Enough time for the college board to decide that Barry will need to pay for all the damages he caused to the facilities, probably. 

He still smiles, because he’s going to spend an _entire break_ with his boyfriend if he survives finals, and that thought is exciting. 

“Hey, I’m going to head over to the bar now,” Barry says. 

Eddie makes a kissing sound at the phone, and in the background Barry can hear Iris sighing. “ _Hurry_ ,” Eddie insists. “I want to make out with you before I pass out.” 

Of course, Barry hasn’t saved up enough money to buy a motorbike and probably never will be able to now - he _knows_ how much test tubes cost. He walks to the bar next to the Olive Garden. 

How is he going to tell Eddie that he was the one who caused the explosion because he hasn’t ingested anything else other than Red Bull for days? The bottle didn’t read ‘Iodine’ when he first looked at it, but apparently this wasn’t reasonable to the police officers. 

The burns on Barry’s forearms don’t feel unbearably terrible beneath his hoodie yet in the chill of December, and Barry ducks into the bar, immediately wincing at the slurring, high-pitched person belting out lyrics into the mic. 

Eddie and Iris are sitting at a table in the corner, and Eddie’s ‘business casual’ collared shirt is unbuttoned and ruffled, one side of his pants rolled halfway up his leg. He’s laughing unabashedly at something Iris has said, his head leaning on the back of his chair and Adam’s apple pronounced in the midst of a blond straggly beard. 

He’s the most beautiful person Barry’s seen all day and such a contrast to the white cement walls and blue uniforms covering stale-faced officers at the police station that Barry almost cries. 

Barry’s too stressed to handle much of anything right now. 

He sits down in the empty seat next to Eddie, who grins at him and reaches up to touch Barry’s face. “You’re sunburnt,” Eddie notes. “Did you go out into the sun?” 

“There was a fire - more like a contained explosion. I’m fine, don’t worry about it.” Barry laces his fingers with Eddie and takes his hand gently off his cheek, resting their hands in his lap. Eddie’s skin is more red than Barry’s, and his alcohol-heavy blush is evident in his cheeks. 

“You’re here,” Eddie says simply, and doesn’t stop smiling at Barry, who feels too uncomfortable in his clothes. 

Iris finishes checking her own phone. “You know news of the fire has made it to social media? And guess who they say caused the accident - ‘a promising forensic scientist major.’ Anything you want to tell me, Barry?” 

“Um.” Barry bites the inside of his cheek. “It might have been my fault.” 

Eddie frowns. “If you started the fire, why are you still not at the police station?” 

“It was pretty clear to everyone that it was an accident,” Barry says. He remembers avoiding Rathaway flirting at him, just trying to complete the steps in a timely manner so he could get the hell away from his lab partner. 

Which, he did get away from Hartley, but at the cost of probably his career and any professional respect because his vision had begun to blur and his sense of smell was completely offline. 

“And you’re sure you’re okay?” Eddie asks, squeezing Barry’s hand. 

Barry smiles with too much teeth. “I’m fine.” 

Iris asks, “So I assume we’re going to help you get absolutely shitfaced?” 

“It won’t take that much. I have nothing in my stomach right now.” 

Eddie says, “You really need to get a stable diet, Barry. Trust me, you’ll feel so much better if you do.” 

“This is coming from the one who’s the most drunk at this table?” Barry reaches out with his free hand to brush over the red splotches on Eddie’s cheeks. 

He doesn’t notice Iris leave the table, too busy watching Eddie’s slightly delayed reactions as he leans into Barry’s touch on his cheek while the hand he’s wrapped around Barry’s wrist shakes imperceptibly. 

“You enjoy it, Allen,” Eddie laughs. “And this semester’s almost over, yeah?” 

There are still exams to endure, which reminds Barry of the emotion behind the mini lab explosion. Barry’s smile falters, and Eddie reaches up to brush the pads of his warm fingers over Barry’s lips, not to replace the smile but to just feel Barry. 

Barry doesn’t look away from Eddie, relishing how Eddie’s slow reflexes result in his gaze shuddering back and forth to soak in parts of Barry’s appearance, eyelashes blinking with care. 

“I think we can make it through the year, yeah?” Eddie says, a small smirk curling his nose. 

Iris returns to the table and hands a bottle of cold beer to Barry, who unravels from Eddie and accepts it. He starts to chug the bottle without any prelude. 

He puts it down when its about halfway empty, sweating profusely in his layers of clothes. He peels off the hoodie to reveal a singed band tee on underneath, which Eddie promptly runs his fingers over, tracing the lines of Barry’s ribs and poking fingers through the burnt holes to brush against Barry’s skin. 

Eddie brushes his hand over Barry’s nipples and tweaks them, and Barry pulls away, snorting. 

Iris doesn’t roll her eyes but says, “Did your shirt get set on fire, Bar?” 

“Kind of,” Barry says. “I put it out before any damage was done.” 

Eddie’s hand drifts down to rest on Barry’s hip, stroking lightly over his hipbone, and Barry slings a leg over Eddie’s lap so they sit almost on top of one another. 

“Do you two want to get a room?“ Iris asks pointedly, already back to texting with Felicity, probably complaining about their PDA, because aren’t college students supposed to be angst sacks of heartbreak and not overenthusiastic lovebirds? 

Eddie hums deep in his throat. 

“I think we’re good here,” Barry fake-whispers at Iris, splitting into another grin. 

“Mm-hmm. Well, if you two need transpiration home, I’ll be at Olive Garden.” 

Barry smiles at her as she leaves and leans closer to Eddie. “So, now that we’re _alone_ , what did you want to do?” 

“We can talk about break,” Eddie suggests, pulling Barry’s leg so they’re even closer together. “Like, what do you want to do in the long weeks of no classes?” 

Barry wraps an arm around Eddie, and takes a swig out of his beer with the other. “I was thinking we could just stay in your dorm and not leave.” 

“For two weeks? Allen, we at least have to go to the cafeteria or something.” 

Their faces are almost touching. 

“Or we could go to the bookstore,” Barry shrugs. “Make you wear your reading glasses.” He waggles his eyebrows. 

Eddie just laughs, taking the opportunity to mouth at Barry’s lips, which Barry parts, still shaking his shoulders in his laugh. 

“Why don’t we go out and get drunk more often?” Barry asks as they pull apart, breathing elevatedly. 

“Classes, I think,” Eddie says, and leans in for another kiss. “But we should totally do it more after exams.” 

Barry hums his acquiescence and tilts his head to brush noses with Eddie. “Don’t know what I”m going to do about my Chem exam, though,” he says. 

“Hey. We’ll get through this. The fire was just a mistake anyone could make. You’re going to be fine. Okay?” Eddie looks at Barry like he’s the most important subject on his mind. 

“Yeah,” Barry says. “We’re going to be fine.” 

They are fine, aren’t they? Sure, Barry just spent the afternoon in a police station, but he’s in college and allowed to be a forgetful kid once in a while. 

As well as his rationalizing, Eddie’s currently pressing against him, so he feels _fantastic_. 

“Thanks,” Barry blurts out. “Just, you know - thanks.” 

Eddie squeezes Barry’s hand. “Anytime, Allen.” 

**Author's Note:**

> I am total garbage over Eddie Thawne on my [tumblr](http://www.tylerjosephstoast.tumblr.com).


End file.
